Striped bass, sunshine bass and white bass provide popular alternative fisheries for freshwater recreational anglers in Florida.  These fishes all belong to the family Moronidae, the temperate basses.  Before we start listing the Top 10 sites for 2003, you may be interested in a little background on these fishes as they exist in Florida today and are highly dependent on state hatcheries to maintain fishable populations.

Striped bass are one of the nation’s most popular coastal sport fishes. Further north along the Atlantic seaboard the fish spawn in fresh water but migrate offshore to mature. Due to Florida’s warm temperatures, however, stripers here behave differently. In Florida, stripers spawn in freshwater coastal rivers only to a very limited extent and stay in fresh water to mature. They cannot survive our warm ocean temperatures. Even in fresh water, they are confined to areas near springs during summer where they frequently lose weight, even in 72 F water.

Adult stripers are collected each winter and taken to FWC hatcheries at Richloam (Sumter County) and Blackwater (Santa Rosa County) to spawn. The fish are injected with hormones, and the eggs and sperm mixed together by hand. Eggs are aerated in special containers called MacDonald jars until they hatch. Baby fish, called fry, are reared on brine shrimp until old enough to stock in ponds, where they eat microscopic zooplankton and later a pelleted feed. Striper fingerlings are generally stocked when they are 1-2 inches long.

A unique contribution of the hatcheries are hybrids made by crossing striped bass with white bass. These fish were developed to survive warm freshwater temperatures and take advantage of abundant shad forage. The original hybrid had a female striped bass parent, and was developed in South Carolina. In Florida, we also use the Sunshine Bass, which was developed here. It is similar but has a white bass as the female parent.

Our hatcheries annually produce about one million 1-2 inch hybrids. Most hybrids are stocked into Fish Management Areas or other public lakes that have a good food supply of shad. In addition, we grow out 15,000-20,000 hybrids to a size of about 8-9 inches before stocking them in intensively managed fisheries. The bigger ones go into urban fishing ponds and panhandle impoundments managed by FWC.

Most serious striped bass anglers use heavy bait casting or open-faced spinning tackle. Line sizes range from 12- to 25- pound test and the most popular lure is a yellow or white jig, from 1/8 to 1˝ ounces. A Redfin lure is a top choice for surface fishing, and spoons are also popular. For big stripers, live bait, especially shad and often small eels are deadly. Sunshine anglers use similar but lighter gear. Shrimp are an especially productive bait for hybrid striped bass.

The striped bass record in Florida is a 42.25 pounder caught in the Apalachicola River in 1993. Qualifying sizes for stripers in the Big Catch Program are 30 inches or 12 pounds. For Sunshines, the record is a 16.31 pound fish caught in Lake Seminole, in 1985, and qualifying sizes are 24 inches or 7 pounds.

So here you are, Florida's freshwater fisheries biologists have identified the following ten sites as being the most likely to be highly productive during 2003, for stripers, sunshine bass and white bass, collectively known as Morone because of their scientific name.

Top 10 Morone Fishing Locations:

1. Apalachicola River / Lake Seminole – Striped bass, sunshine bass, and white bass.

This is where the big boys are. The state record striped bass (42.25 pounds), sunshine bass (16.31 pounds), and white bass (4.69 pounds) all were caught in the Apalachicola River / Lake Seminole system. Striped bass (500,000) and sunshine bass (200,000) are stocked into Lake Seminole annually. Lake Seminole, a 35,000-acre reservoir located on the Florida-Georgia border in Gadsden and Jackson Counties, is the headwater of the Apalachicola River. In Lake Seminole, striped bass and sunshine bass congregate along the old river channels and the lower lake near the dam during fall and winter, and migrate up the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers during the spring. Larger fish move to cool water springs, which are closed to fishing, during the summer.

Fish are discharged downstream into the Apalachicola River during high water. Striped bass greater than 20 pounds and sunshine bass in the 7 to 10 pound range are common. Striped bass in the 40 to 60 pound range have been caught or collected from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system.

Striped bass and sunshine bass move throughout the Apalachicola river system during the fall and winter, and can be caught from the dam to the coast. Larger fish migrate up the river and congregate below the dam during the spring.

2. Lake Talquin / Ochlockonee River – Striped bass and white bass.

Striped bass are stocked annually into Lake Talquin and discharged downstream during high water. Striped bass in the 10 to 20 pound range are common. Fish in the 20 and 30 pound range are becoming common, and fish over 40 pounds are not unheard of. White bass were introduced during the 1980’s. While the white bass population has been impacted by drought conditions during recent years, a rebound is expected following flood conditions during 2003. Three to five pound white bass were common prior to the drought.

Striped bass can be found throughout the reservoir during the fall and winter, particularly along the old river and creek channels. They migrate up the Ochlockonee River during the spring and congregate in creeks with coolwater discharge during the summer. Fish discharged to the lower Ochlockonee River move throughout the system during the fall and winter, and migrate upstream, congregating below the dam, during the spring.

3. St. Johns River – Striped bass and sunshine bass.

Striped bass are stocked annually. Sunshine bass stocking was suspended during the late 1990’s, but a few fish, along with migrants from the Oklawaha River are still being caught. Striped bass in the 8 to 12 pound range are common. Fish over 20 pounds are rare. Sunshine bass in the five to seven pound range are common. Hybrids over ten pounds are uncommon.

Striped bass and sunshine bass move throughout the system during the fall and winter. Important areas include the jetties and bombing ranges in Lake George, the mouth of Lake Monroe, the lower Ocklawaha River, Buffalo Bluff, Shands, Buckman, and I-295 bridges. Larger fish congregate in creeks with coolwater discharge and in large springs, such as the Croaker Hole, during the summer.

4. Blackwater / Yellow rivers – striped bass.

Striped bass are stocked annually. The major fishery is in the upper Blackwater Bay, in Santa Rosa County, near the mouths of the rivers during the fall and winter. Unlike other fisheries in the state, this fishery is best at night. Fish migrate upstream during the spring. Fish in the 10 to 20 pound range are common. Fish in the 20 to 30 pound range are occurring more frequently.

5. Choctawhatchee River – Striped bass and sunshine bass.

Either striped bass or sunshine bass are stocked annually. The main fishery is in the lower portion of the river, between State Road 20 and Choctawhatchee Bay, in Walton and Washington counties, and occurs during the fall and winter. During the summer, striped bass congregate in and around tributaries exhibiting coolwater discharge.

6. Escambia River – Striped bass and sunshine bass

Escambia River and Bay, in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, was stocked annually with sunshine bass until 1999. Large fish in the 10-12 pound range are still being caught. Striped bass (200,000 fingerlings) were stocked in 2002, and sunshine bass (500,000 fingerlings) in 2003. Striped bass and sunshine bass year classes will be alternately stocked in the future.

Striped bass and sunshine bass are found in the lower 10 miles of the river and upper bay during the fall and winter. Sunshine bass exhibit a small run up river during the spring. Striped bass will make a stronger spring run up river, beginning in 2004.

7. St. Mary’s River – Striped bass.

Striped bass are the principle sportfish in the St. Mary’s River upstream of the I-95 Bridge in Nassau County. Fish have been periodically stocked, although immigration from the St. Johns River or natural reproduction is the main source of fish. Fish can be found throughout the river during fall and winter months and exhibit an upstream migration during the spring. They congregate in or near creeks with coolwater discharge during summer months.


8. Eagle Lake – Sunshine bass

Eagle Lake Fish Management Area is a 200 acre reclaimed phosphate pit located in Hamilton County. It is stocked with 50 to 100 sunshine bass per acre annually. Sunshine bass grow rapidly because of abundant shad, reaching 6 to 7 pounds in two years. The main fishery occurs during fall and winter months.


9. Edward Medard Lake – Sunshine bass

Edward Medard Lake is a 700 acre chain of reclaimed phosphate pits located in Hillsborough County. It is stocked with 100 sunshine bass per acre annually. The majority of fish are age-0 and age-1 (1 to 2 pounds), although some two-year old fish up to 6 pounds can be found. The main fishery occurs during fall and winter months.

10. Lake Osborne / Lake Ida – Sunshine bass

Lake Osborne is a 350 acre lake located in Palm Beach County. It is stocked with 28 sunshine bass per acre annually. The majority of fish caught are age-0, but some age-1 and a few age-2 are present. A good shad forage base promotes rapid growth and provides a good live-bait source. The main fishery occurs during winter and spring months.